Self-Contained or Remote Refrigeration

However, the biggest decision you’ll have to make is whether you want self-contained refrigeration or remote refrigeration.

Both options have advantages and disadvantages. It’s important to consider and carefully weigh these pros and cons so that you can choose the best option to meet your needs.

Understanding Self-Contained Refrigeration

To begin with, self-containedrefrigerationis exactly what it sounds like. In this type of system, everything is built into the refrigeration cabinet. In other words, you have, just as the name implies, one self-contained refrigeration unit.

As you can imagine, there are a great many benefits to this type of unit. To start with, you don’t have to buy a bunch of parts and pieces, which can quickly get costly and inconvenient. Instead, you just have to buy and install one simple unit.

Not only is this more convenient and typically cheaper than buying and assembling several pieces, but it also makes for easier maintenance, care, and general upkeep. Plus, when the time comes to move the unit, you just have to worry about moving one simple thing.

All in all, many people find self-contained refrigeration units easier to deal with in every way. That doesn’t mean they’re perfect, however.

For one thing, they do tend to run hot when they operate, which can lead to a potential hazard in the working area. They can also contribute to increasing the overall heat and discomfort of a kitchen.
In addition to this issue, self-contained units can often be more costly to operate than other options. Users will often see a large rise in their energy costs. These units can also be short on space and can be noisy to boot. For these reasons, they don’t work for every kitchen.

Understanding Remote Refrigeration

If a self-contained unit doesn’t work for you, don’t worry. You can always make the switch to remote refrigeration.

This is actually the perfect option if you can’t stand a hot kitchen or have poor ventilation in your kitchen.

This option is also good if you don’t like all the noise of a self-contained unit. Remote refrigeration systems are much quieter. This feature makes them ideal for operations where you have multiple refrigeration systems to deal with.

These systems are also more spacious than their self-contained counterparts and are more energy efficient.

With that said, though, they are time-intensive, difficult, and often expensive to install. They also tend to break down more often and need more servicing than self-contained systems. And, to make matters worse, moving these units is a huge hassle.

Make the Right Choice to Match Your Needs

As you can see, neither option is perfect. And, until there is some perfect refrigeration system created, your best option is to simply choose the refrigeration system that is as close to perfect as possible in terms of your needs.

By considering and making your decision carefully, you can make the best possible choice.